Derek Lam / Spring 2012 RTW

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Derek Lam wrote an evocative intro to his program notes—a fantasy about hanging out in the Kaufmann House in Palm Springs, the spectacularly glamorous design built by Richard Neutra for a Pittsburgh retail tycoon in 1946. “My mind is wandering to a place of salubrious comfort . . . Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack crooning by the piano and Angie Dickinson lounging by a crystal blue pool.” Well, after reading that, who wouldn’t be ready for a moment of California escapism? As it turned out, though, Lam stopped short of giving his audience an immersion in mid-century Americana. Though his heart was in the right place as a designer of clean, precisely made, and very evidently luxurious sportswear, he is not someone to run wild with a singular runway theme.

Make no mistake—anyone who comes across Lam’s pieces item by item next spring will be in for some pleasurable surprises. He cuts a crisp, A-line skirt, the kind of blazers which will merge easily into any wardrobe, and he showed the best knits seen in New York so far—ribbed or honeycomb textured sweaters which looked great as single pieces and sometimes came with matching skirts. As an expert in leather, he deployed a good shoe, too, like two-tone appliquéd “Daytona” pumps, and bags patchworked in snakeskin. There was a flash of humor when Lam took on the season’s obligatory exercise in print, with patterns inspired by vintage place mats which popped up on three looks midway through the show. But for all that unimpeachably retail-ready merchandise, Lam left his audience wishing the show had somehow transmitted a bit more of the sunny California dreaming he’d written about. It’s not that anyone wants to wear themes or “funny” clothes, but even the uplift of, say, a bit of Sinatra on the sound track would have sent people out with a smile.